Belfast backs runway expansion, claims airport

The public battle over runway extension plans at George Best Belfast City Airport heated up today when the airport claimed the vast majority of people in the city were behind them.

A poll carried out for the airport said just 4% of those surveyed were worried about aircraft noise – well below the 10% concerned about litter on the city streets and way behind the 46% who cited crime and anti-social behaviour as their No 1 worry.

The Mori poll on the proposed runway extension said 70% of Belfast city residents strongly supported the extension proposal.

It also showed 81% of people in the city and 72% in Greater Belfast believed the airport had a positive impact on the Belfast economy.

The airport has lodged a planning application to lengthen its runway by 590 metres.

It says the plan is not to increase aircraft size or flight numbers but to allow existing aircraft to fly further and with more passengers on board.

Ryanair is a driving force behind the application, but Flybe put a fly in the ointment earlier this week when it came down against the extension.

Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose said: “The results of this poll vindicate our decision and show that there is widespread public support for our decision to extend the runway.

“There is an obvious economic benefit of the extension which will not impinge on the current planning agreement governing number of flights and opening hours, or impact on noise or air quality, nor the surrounding environment including Victoria Park.”

Campaigners against the expansion have formed a coalition – Belfast City Airport Watch – and are seeking a public inquiry in their bid to block the expansion which they say would make their lives under the flight path unbearable.

The poll took the form of face-to-face interviews with 385 residents in Belfast city and greater Belfast.

Fiona McKinley, of Belfast City Airport Watch, poured scorn on the poll, saying they had also commissioned a survey.

“Interestingly, it showed very different results,” she said.